Before the hiatus...

Bayh's vote helps him keep his options open. You know where I stand on that...just look at the sidebar.

Senator Tom Harkin will not endorse anyone during the Iowa primary race for Governor. He has, however, endorsed Governor Tom Vilsack should Gov. Vilsack decide to run for president in 2008. If Vilsack runs, would he win the caucus?

"If Tom Vilsack runs, I will support him," Harkin said in an interview with reporters and editors from The Associated Press. "I can see him being a very viable candidate for president."

Harkin said Vilsack has compiled a solid record as governor and "is doing all the right things" to lay the groundwork for a bid for the presidential nomination. He would bring considerable strength to the race, Harkin said.

"We've got to start carrying some of these states in the upper Midwest, and I think Vilsack could do that," Harkin said. "I think he would be formidable if that's the route he decides to go."

Harkin said his ties to Vilsack go back to the 1998 election when few people thought he could defeat Republican Jim Ross Lightfoot.

"Back then when things looked bad, when the polls were down, I was out there on the road with him every single day," Harkin said. "When Tom Vilsack ran for governor, the records will show I raised more money for him than any single person."

Harkin was elected to Congress in 1974 and he knocked off a sitting Republican senator in 1984. He has been re-elected solidly every time since, building a reputation as a tough and savvy campaigner

His status among Democrats makes him a key figure as the next presidential campaign unfolds.

While Republicans already have settled on a calendar that puts the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary first, a special commission is studying the Democratic calendar.

"It would be a mistake for us to do something other than the Republicans," said Harkin, who said he's lobbying hard to keep Iowa first. "We're not out of the woods yet, but I still think in the long run we're going to be OK."

During the last presidential election, Harkin was courted avidly. He said he hasn't sorted out his role in the 2008 presidential election, although potential candidates already are seeking his advice.

"A lot of it hinges on what the intentions of Governor Vilsack are and whether or not he will be a candidate," Harkin said. "Obviously if he's a candidate, that changes a lot of what I do."

Harkin sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992, when his presence in the field rendered Iowa's caucuses meaningless as other candidates ceded the state to him. That likely won't happen again should Vilsack run, Harkin said.

"I think it might be different now, I really do," he said. "A lot of people in '92 said after that they wished they'd come to Iowa.

"Even if Vilsack runs and Iowa is first, you'll see people playing here, maybe not to beat him, but to come in a healthy second."

Congressman Robert Wexler wants no part in the kingmaking business.

The new Yoko Ono is Mick Jagger's new girlfriend: L'Wren Scott.

A source says, "L'Wren feels the band should smarten up their appearance but sadly that is falling on deaf ears. Ronnie still wears his Ugg boots everywhere, and as for Keith, well Keith of the bandana and the bare chest is not changing his style for anyone."

George Clooney vows to stay out of politics. But why? He is an American as am I.

Ocean's Eleven star George Clooney is urging his fellow Hollywood stars to keep quiet when it comes to politics, because he fears celebrity endorsements could wreck their favourite candidates' chances of victory.

Democrat Clooney and a number of screen stars have recently come under attack for voicing their political views.

And the actor, whose father Nick Clooney was recently defeated in his bid to be elected the congressional representative for Kentucky, has now vowed to be a lot more politically low-key.

He says, "My father ran for congress last year (04). I couldn't campaign for him and I knew I couldn't, because I'd hurt him. They tried to get me to get on the John Kerry train and I said, 'We'll hurt him. They'll use us as 'liberal'.'

"Now, I would argue that (throughout) American history, it's pretty hard to find a time when liberals were on the wrong side of an issue. We thought that the conservative view was, 'Witches should be burned at the stake.' Moderate view was: 'Well, just in case,' and the liberal view was, 'There's no such thing as witches.'

"We thought women should be able to vote and blacks should be allowed to sit at the front of the bus and Vietnam was wrong. We haven't really been on a lot of wrong sides for us to be sort of used as this bad word.

"But we hurt candidates right now, so we can do fundraisers quietly and make some money. But I think it's dangerous to get up and talk about it."

Evan Bayh has raised the most of any 2008 candidate rumored to be running for the presidency.

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., rumored to be running for the 2008 presidential seat, has racked up about $1.2 million. He's raised more money this year than any of his fellow potential Democratic presidential contenders, besting New York Sen. Hillary Clinton by nearly $480,000.

The majority of donations to Visclosky's PAC come from the defense or energy communities, whereas most of Bayh's come from the finance and insurance industries.

Who is Harriet Miers? She pulled a Dick Cheney. You remember Cheney was put in charge to find George a VP nominee? Well, Miers was leading the search for a new Supreme Court Justice. Evidently, she couldn't find anyone. She has no judicial experience at all.

State Rep. James Carr betrayed his promise to party officials and defected to the GOP. We will take control of the Senate in 2006 and retain the House.

Democratic Party leaders accused Carr of misleading them about his political leanings last year, and vowed to mount a challenger next year.

State Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Lundergan said Democratic leaders were leery of Carr's loyalty but decided to trust him after Carr made direct promises to various party officials that he wouldn't defect.

"James Carr should be ashamed of what he did," Lundergan said.

Oh, we will have a challenger and I highly agree with Chairman Lundergan.